Apparatus for centering shafts and the like.



G. I L AMSON APPARATUS FOR GENTERING SHAFTS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1910. A Patented Dec. 27, ,1910;

2' sums-sum 1.

THE NORRIS PETERS 0a., WASHINGTON, p. :4

G. WILLIAMSON, APPARATUS FOB. OENTERING SHAFTS AND THE LIKE.

APPLIQATION FILED MAR. 29. 1910.

979,909. Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

2 SHEET8-SHBBT 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGYON, D4 :4

' ends; and Fig. l

GEORGE WILLIAMSON, OF ROCI-IDALE, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR OENTERING SHAFTS AlSl'D THE LIKE.

Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

Application filed March 29, 1910. Serial No. 552,144.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE VVILLIAMSON, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing in Rochdale, in the county of Lancaster, in theKingdom of England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Centering Shafts and the Like, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to the centering of turned shafts and the like.As is well known this operation is one that requires extreme accuracyand has usually been performed by methods requiring hand adjustment,depending very largely upon the skill of the operator for their success.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus bywhich the centering may be performed to the necessary degree of accuracywith the minimum amount-of manipulation and skill on the part of theoperator.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which;

Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2 an end elevation; and Fig. 3, aplan of a machine designed for working according to this in- I vention;Fig. 4: is an enlarged side elevation of a modified construction of thehead of the machine; Figs. 5 and 6 are end views respectively of thisdevice seen from opposite is a plan thereof.

In carrying out the invention a center cutter 1 is mounted in a supportin the form of a head-stock 2 and a universal chuck 3 is mounted so thatits jaws 4 surround the cutter. These jaws are not formed so as to havea gripping action but are provided with rollers 5 rotatably mounted ontheir ends. These rollers lie a short distance in front of the cutter 1so that the end of the shaft to be centered may be placed between them.After this has been efiected the chuck is adjusted so that the rollers 5bear firmly upon the shaft. The rollers 5 and cutter 1 are then rotatedby suitable means and the cutter is fed up to the end of the shaft. Ifthe rollers 5 are arranged exactly equi-distant from the cutter axis,the cutter will of course'be' exactly opposite the center of the shaftand accordingly will mark out the center by boring a conical recesstherein. If, however, as is practically always the case the rollers 5are not exactly equi-distant from the cutter axis, the center lineof theshaft will be slightly eccentric to the cutter and as the rollers rollaround the shaft the end of the latter will be caused to swing in asmall circle so that the cutter will then describe a circle of smallradius about the center of the shaft so that the centering will beaccurately effected.

Apparatus for carrying out the invention will now be described,reference being first made to the forms shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The shaftto be centered is indicated by 6 and is shown in chain dotted lines inFig. 1 (it is also similarly shown in Fig. 4). 7 is the stand or supportfor the machine and 8 is the bed thereof on which the headstock 2 ismounted, being secured in position as by means of bolts and nuts 9. 10is an adjustable rest or holder for the shaft 6 this holder being lockedin any position required on the bed S, as by means of bolt 11 (Figs. 2and 3). The center cutter 1 is carried in the head stock 2 by means ofthe spindle 13 adapted to be rotated by means of a pulley 14 driven by abelt from a suitable counter shaft. This pulley ltis mounted on a sleeve15 which by means of a feather 16 engages the spindle 13 in such a waythat the sleeve 15 is rotatably supported in the right hand part of thehead-stock 2 so that it cannot move longitudinally. The feather 16allows the spindle 13 to slide through the sleeve 15 so as to feedforward the cutter 1. This feed is effected by means of the shaft 17mounted transversely in the left hand part of the head-stock 2 andadapted to be turned by means of a handle 18. This shaft carries apinion engaging with a rack 19 on a sleeve 20 which is mounted in theleft hand part of the head-stock 2 so that it can slide longitudinallywhile being prevented from rotating by a screw or pin 21 engaging in alongitudinal groove 22 in the sleeve. This sleeve 20 embraces the lefthand end of the cutter spindle 13 and abuts at one end against thrustcollars or nuts 23 on the spindle while at the other end it worksagainst a ball thrust collar 24 which in turn works against a boss 25 onthe cutter spindle; hence when the handle 18 is turned it will move thesleeve 20 v longitudinally while permitting it to rotate. On the end ofthe cutter 1 is fixed the universal chuck 3 having three or more rollersor equivalent anti-friction devices 5 adapted to work around the end ofthe shaft 6 to be centered. WVith the exception of the formation of thejaws as described the chuck may be of any kind that will permit of theadjustment of the jaws being readily effected. The support or holder 10for the shaft is provided with two laterally adjustable blocks 26 havinginterengaging V-shaped notches at 27. The two blocks 26 are adapted tobe drawn together or moved apart by a right and left handed screw 28adapted to be rotated by means of a handle applied to the end 29. Itwill be seen that with this device the shaft may be clamped andautomatically held in the right axial position for centering by means ofthe notches 27.

In the machine above described the cutter l and chuck 3 are rotated andfed forward together since they are both mounted firmly on the spindle13. A stop 30 is provided near the right hand end of the spindle tolimit the forward feed of the cutter.

I11 some cases .it is desirable to allow the rotation of the cutter tobe independent of the rotation of the chuck, this being particularlydesirable when dealing with large shafts when the rollers 5 would have alarge distance to travel in each revolution. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustratea modified form of the machine in which this is provided for. In thiscase the headstock 2 is of slightly modified construction, provisionbeing made for the mounting of two pulleys 31 and 32, the former ofwhich drives the spindle 13 and the cutter 1 while the latter drives thechuck 3 carrying the rollers 5. The pulley 31 engages the spindle 13 bymeans of a feather 33 so that, as in the previously described machine,the pulley may drive the spindle continuously while it is being fedforward without partaking of its axial motion. A lever feed for thespindle is in this case provided instead of the rack and pinion device.A collar 34 mounted between thrust collars 35 and 36 near the end of thespindle 13 has a downwardly projecting lug 37 which embraces a pin 38fixed in the end of the headstock -2. A lever 39 is pivoted at 40 on anarm 41 which is bolted to a boss 42 on the headstock 2 (Figs. 6 and 7),and this lever passes through a slot 43 in the lower part of the lug 37.By moving the lever 39 the lug 37 with the collar 34 is moved to theright or left feeding up the cutter spindle 13 or withdrawing it. A wellknown form of devise consisting of a milled head 44; carrying a pin 45engaging in a bayonet slot allows the thrust block 5 to be detached whenrequired. The chuck 3 is in this case mounted on a sleeve 46 on whichthe pulley 32 is secured by means of a key 4:7. It will be seen that inthis form of the machine the spindle can be fed forward while the, chuckonly has rotary motion and further, the speed of rotation of thechuck isquite lndependent of that of the cutter.

Further modifications of the device might evidently be introduced ifrequired, for example, the whole of the headstock 2 might be fed forwardor any other equivalent mechanism might be used which would secure therequired relative longitudinal movement between the cutter and theshaft. Of course also instead of a hand feed for the cutter any suitableform of automatic feed might be used. Evidently the universal chuckmight have four or more jaws each provided wit-h a roller and otherdetails might be modified. Instead of the pair of laterally adjustableholding blocks 26, a vertical adjustable block with a V-notch at itsupper end might be used in conjunction with means for clamping the shaftin the notch.

I declare that what I claim is 1. Apparatus for centering shafts and'thelike, comprising means for holding the shaft, a headstock, a cutter formarking the center carried in said headstock, interconnected membersgrouped about the axis of said cutter and adapted to engage theperiphery of the shaft adjacent the end thereof, means for rotating saidgroup of members about the shaft and in contact with the surfacethereof, said group of members and said rotating means being carried bysaid headstock, means for moving the cutter axially relative to saidheadstock. I

2. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like, comprising means forholding the shaft, a headstock, a cutter for marking the center carriedin said headstock, interconnected members grouped about the axis of saidoutter and adapted to engage the periphery of the shaft adjacent the endthereof, means for rotating said group of members about the shaft and incontact with the surface thereof, said group of members and saidrotating means being carried by said headstock, means for moving thecutter axially relative to said headstock and to said group of members.

3. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like comprising means forholding the shaft, a cutter for marking the center, interconnectedmembers grouped about the axis of said cutter and adapted to engage theperiphery of the shaft adjacent the end thereof, means for rotating saidgroup of members about the shaft and in contact with the surfacethereof, and means for moving the cutter axially relative to andindependently of the said group of members.

4E. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like, comprising means forholding the shaft, a cutter for marking the center, interconnectedmembers grouped about said cutter axis and adapted to engage theperiphery of the shaft near the end thereof, means for rotating saidgroup of members about the shaft and in contact with the surfacethereof, independent means for rotating the cutter and means forbringing the cutter into contact with the end of the shaft.

5. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like comprising means forholding the shaft, a cutter for marking the center, interconnectedmembers grouped about the axis of said cutter and adapted to engage theperiphery of the shaft near the end thereof, means for rigidlysupporting said cutter and said group of members, means for rotatingsaid group of members about the shaft and in contact with the surfacethereof, independent means for rotating the cutter and means for movingsaid cutter axially relative to the support and independently of saidgroup of members.

6. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like, comprising means forholding the shaft, a cutter for marking the center, a spindle carryingsaid cutter, a rigid support in which said spindle is rotatably mounted,interconected members grouped about the axis of said cutter in one planeand adapted to engage the periphery of the shaft adjacent the endthereof, means for rotating said group of members about the shaft and incontact with the surface thereof, said group of members being carried bythe support in which the cutter spindle is mounted, means for producingrelative axial movement between the shaft and cutter.

7. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like, comprising means forholding the shaft, a headstock, a cutter for marking the center, aspindle carrying said cutter, a sleeve surrounding said spindle andmounted in said headstock a driving pulley mounted on said sleeve, meansfor connecting said sleeve and spindle together for rotary movement,means for moving said spindle axially relative to said sleeve, a secondsleeve surrounding said first sleeve, a driving pulley on said secondsleeve, an annular frame mounted on the end of said second sleeveadjacent the cutter, and rollers mounted in said frame and adapted tosurround the end of the shaft and bear upon the periphery thereof.

8. Apparatus for centering shafts and the like, comprising means forholding the shaft, a headstock a cutter for marking the center, aspindle carrying said cutter, said spindle being rotatably mounted insaid headstock, means for rotating said spindle, means for producingrelative axial movement between the shaft and cutter, a three jaw chuckmounted in said headstock coaxial with said cutter, a roller mounted ineach of the jaws of the chuck and adapted to engage the periphery of theshaft adjacent the end thereof, and means for rotating said chuck.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 17th day ofMarch 1910, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE WILLIAMSON.

Witnesses:

HUBERT A. GILL, RIoHD. L. CLEAVER.

